Winter woes: tips for keeping fit indoors

What are your smart strategies to stop the kilo creep this year? Here's a top 10 list to give you some ideas.

May 17, 2011

What are your smart strategies to stop the kilo creep this year? Here's a top 10 list to give you some ideas:

1. Tread well: One of the easiest, foolproof ways to train in the sun, hail or rain is on a home treadmill. If you're a first timer, a great idea is to hire one over the winter months.

2. Get sporty: Even if you're not typically a team sport exerciser, you might like to consider joining up for a not-so-serious team sport like indoor soccer, which combines a few laughs with a good workout.

3. Gym's in: You don't have to be a gym junkie to benefit from a bit of gym time. Why not check out a local, community facility that offers month by month registration for the colder parts of the year.

4. Make aqua fun: If the thought of turning up in your bathers is a turn off, then pick something else. But if you think that indoor pools are just about swimming laps, think again. From aqua aerobics to deep water running, there are tons of other options for hydro workouts.

5. Take a skiing holiday: Instead of weekending in a bed and breakfast with an open fire and a good book, head to the slopes for an all-body workout. The cold weather helps boost your metabolism and leaves you feeling invigorated.

6. Bowl them over: If you have a birthday or celebration coming up why not boost your incidental activity and go ten pin bowling.

7. Get down and dirty: If you're going to get caught out in the bad weather, you may as well be sweating it out with your team at bootcamp. At least you won't be the only one looking a bit disheveled as your body benefits from this military-style training regime.

8. Try hot yoga: Even though yoga is great at toning and strengthening the body, you also need to combine this with some cardiovascular or huff and puff activity. Bikram yoga is conducted in a heated room and at a pace that certainly gets the blood pumping.

10. Dance the night away: With all the focus on dancing on TV, chances are that dance schools around the country are going to be getting a surge in enrollment for their new classes. From tap to jazz and ballroom to Latin, get going to your favourite tune and beat those kilos back.